Father Larry nominated for Bishop Coadjutor position

Date: 1/5/2009

By Courtney Llewellyn

Reminder Assistant Editor



LONGMEADOW If Father Larry Provenzano is selected to fill the Bishop Coadjutor position in the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island, it will be a sort of homecoming for him. Provenzano is originally from Brooklyn, N.Y., and the jurisdiction of the diocese is over Kings, Queens, Nassau and Suffolk counties.

The search for a new Bishop Coadjutor began in August 2008. A coadjutor is a bishop appointed to assist a diocesan bishop, and often also designated as his successor. Diocesan Bishop Orris G. Walker Jr. called for a coadjutor during the diocese's annual convention in November 2007. Walker will be retiring in 2010. Provenzano was nominated for the position by other clergy members of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts.

"I've lived in New England since graduating from seminary and being ordained," Provenzano said. He's served 22 years in the Western Massachusetts diocese and four in Rhode Island. "Returning home [to the Brooklyn area] is not a motivation for me."

Provenzano said his first reaction to hearing that he had been nominated for the position was, "Oh, yeah, fine," but once he thought about it, he became "humbled that all these people think God is calling me to this."

He added that he wasn't allowed to talk about his nomination during the discernment process that started in September and that he didn't want to upset his congregation by telling them he might be leaving until he was sure it was a possibility.

"The people here [at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, 335 Longmeadow St.] feel pride," he stated. "They've had a hand in forming me. If you need someone to blame, blame yourselves," he joked.

Provenzano has been with St. Andrew's for 14 years. He is also currently serving at the chief of fire chaplains in Massachusetts.

"Twenty-seven years of experience in various areas of ministry leave you vulnerable to opportunity you'll be needed elsewhere," Provenzano explained. "In Long Island, they need a good, faithful pastor. The position is critical to them."

As the Bishop Coadjutor for Long Island, Provenzano would help oversee 146 churches, over 200 priests and 53,000 Episcopalians. The diocese also runs two hospitals, several nursing care facilities and parochial schools and the Mercer School of Theology.

"It's a pretty big job," Provenzano said.

There are currently five other candidates for the position: the Rev. Ronald Abrams, Rector, St. James, Wilmington, N.C.; the Very Rev. Peter Eaton, Dean, St. John's Cathedral, Denver, Colo.; the Rev. Dr. Titus Presler, Sub-Dean, the General Theological Seminary, N.Y.; the Rev. Canon Petero Sabune, Episcopal Chaplain, Sing Sing Correctional Facility, Ossining, N.Y.; and the Rev. Caroline Stacey, Rector, St. Luke in the Fields, N.Y.

The electing convention will convene on March 21.

Questions about Provenzano's candidacy will be answered at St. Andrew's Annual Meeting on Jan. 11. For more information about the church, visit www.st-andrews-longmeadow.org. To learn more about the Diocese of Long Island, visit www.dioceselongisland.org.